Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - The NY Times vs. The President. Who determines the People's Legitimate Right to Know?

pan6467 · 07-07-2006, 06:48 AM

Freedom of the press is just that FREEDOM OF THE PRESS.

We cannot as a "FREE" society, restrict what the press prints.

However, I am concerned about how the press gets these supposed "top secret" documents and do believe the people handing them over are treasonous and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law, whether it was outing a CIA agent or handing over military documents.

I maybe against the war and against the current administration, but if we are putting our men in harm's way and possibly hurting their chances of survival then we need to find those responsible for passing along the information.

This does not mean that the press should name sources, I don't believe we should ever force that, nor do I believe that press should be punished in any way, by the government..... if the people don't like what a certain media prints or releases then do not buy that media, sales go down and it goes out of business... that is supposedly the "Capitalistic" way.

Bush wants to make this an issue but he doesn't say he's going after the "leaks" nor shows us that he is. Why?

Could it be that he knows the leaks are out there, maybe even planted them so that people will get upset over what the press releases and thus demand censorship and hurt what the press can release?

It may sound conspiratorial but until I see people truly tried for the release of information that is classified, I will believe that it is planted by the government, so that they can do just that, bitch about the freedom so they can limit it.

07-07-2006, 06:48 AM	#6 (permalink)
pan6467 Lennonite Priest Location: Mansfield, Ohio USA	Freedom of the press is just that FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. We cannot as a "FREE" society, restrict what the press prints. However, I am concerned about how the press gets these supposed "top secret" documents and do believe the people handing them over are treasonous and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law, whether it was outing a CIA agent or handing over military documents. I maybe against the war and against the current administration, but if we are putting our men in harm's way and possibly hurting their chances of survival then we need to find those responsible for passing along the information. This does not mean that the press should name sources, I don't believe we should ever force that, nor do I believe that press should be punished in any way, by the government..... if the people don't like what a certain media prints or releases then do not buy that media, sales go down and it goes out of business... that is supposedly the "Capitalistic" way. Bush wants to make this an issue but he doesn't say he's going after the "leaks" nor shows us that he is. Why? Could it be that he knows the leaks are out there, maybe even planted them so that people will get upset over what the press releases and thus demand censorship and hurt what the press can release? It may sound conspiratorial but until I see people truly tried for the release of information that is classified, I will believe that it is planted by the government, so that they can do just that, bitch about the freedom so they can limit it. __________________ I just love people who use the excuse "I use/do this because I LOVE the feeling/joy/happiness it brings me" and expect you to be ok with that as you watch them destroy their life blindly following. My response is, "I like to put forks in an eletrical socket, just LOVE that feeling, can't ever get enough of it, so will you let me put this copper fork in that electric socket?"